Trump Coin Gala Dinner Highlights: US President Tells Crypto Backers Biden ‘Made Your Lives Miserable,’ Promises Relief

President Donald Trump pledged to overhaul federal cryptocurrency policy at a gala dinner Thursday evening with top buyers of his digital token, Official Trump (TRUMP), promising a more industry-friendly approach. 

“There’s a lot of common sense in crypto,” Trump told guests at the event, as cited by The New York Times (NYT). “We’re honored to be working on helping everybody here.”

"The past administration made your lives miserable," Trump said, referencing Biden-era enforcement actions against the crypto sector. “They were going after everybody. It was a disgrace, frankly.”

However, the Trump meme coin has fallen more than 14.5% in the last 24 hours to trade at around $13.35 in Friday’s pre-market session, according to CoinGecko. The Official Trump token’s price had initially crossed $15.70 on Thursday evening.

The dinner at Trump’s National Golf Club in northern Virginia was open to approximately 220 investors who had purchased enough TRUMP meme coins to secure a seat. The top 25 holders were promised additional access to Trump and a private tour. 

Among the guests were crypto executives from South Korea, Taiwan, and China, including Tron founder Justin Sun, who reportedly purchased over $40 million worth of Trump tokens to lead the event leaderboard. 

Others included executives from Hyperithm, Kronos Research, and Delphi Digital. Several attendees acknowledged in interviews with the NYT that they viewed the dinner as an opportunity to influence U.S. crypto policy.

While critics, including Senator Jeff Merkley, called the event “the Mount Everest of corruption,” the White House rejected any implication of impropriety. “It’s absurd to insinuate that this President is profiting off the presidency,” said press secretary Karoline Leavitt in a press briefing before the event.

The Trump token surged in value within hours of its launch on Jan. 19, hitting a peak of $72.43, right before Trump’s inauguration as the President. However, the token is currently trading 81% below that threshold but has been able to climb nearly 43% over the past 30 days. 

The broader cryptocurrency market was also down as Bitcoin (BTC) fell 2.7% in the last 24 hours. Bitcoin’s price retreated to $108,300 in U.S. pre-market hours after hitting a high of over $109,700 on Thursday.

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